THIS BLOG RATES THE S&P 500 BUY/SELL/OR HOLD EACH DAY WITH 2-GOALS FOR LONG TERM INVESTMENTS: (1) PRESERVE CAPITAL (2) BEAT THE S&P 500.
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“A gap is a point where the opening price on a given day
is materially higher than the prior day’s closing level… when gaps occur after
an extended advance, they are called “exhaustion gaps,” and they can signal
desperation among investors to chase the prevailing trend… The chart below
combines the S&P exhaustion gaps with those for the Dow Industrials. Given
such simple criteria, the outcomes are rather disturbing.” – John Hussman, PhD.

My cmt: When I first saw the above chart I thought, “Uh
oh! Here’s another “Crash Chart” that once again “proves” a crash is near…except
that perhaps it doesn’t.One of the
criteria is that “SPX must be within 2% of a record high.” Maybe I’m wrong, but
wouldn’t this chart be very similar if one plotted full moons within 2% of record
highs? I guess I just don’t understand it, but it seems hard to believe that
there has not been a single day from 2012 thru late 2016 that doesn’t have a
0.5% gap up near an all-time high. I am suspicious that the chart should be
littered with false signals.

My cmt: Just yesterday I posted a commentary from Lance
Roberts on this subject. His thesis was this period isn’t like the 1980’s and investors should be cautious.

BE BULLISH (Raymond James)

“We
continue to think the rally’s driver is earnings, since our belief is the
equity markets have transitioned from an interest rate-driven to an
earnings-driven secular bull market. Categorically, earnings were the driver
last week with 68.1% of reporting companies beating the estimates and 66.0%
bettering the revenue estimates (chart 1 on page 3). Importantly, the
percentage of companies raising earnings guidance, versus companies lowering
guidance, has flipped positive for the first time in the last three quarters
(chart 2 on page 3). Be bullish my friends, be bullish!” – Jeffery Saut.
Commentary at…

I track high-volume days as a way of following trend
changes. These are days when 90% of the volume is up; or on the other side, 90%
of the volume is down. The last 90% down volume day was 21 Dec 2016.The last high up-volume day was the day after
the bottom (5% pullback) on 4 Nov 2016. This is another indication of an
abnormally quiet market. Long periods without a high up or down volume day tend
to generally indicate tops – not necessarily major tops. Bottom line: It would
be nice to see a high up-volume day to confirm this uptrend.

Not much is new…Mostly bullish signs continue:

-My Sum of 16-Indicators was at +9 today vs. +9
yesterday. Longer term the indicators continue to improve. Market Internals
look good and new-high/new-low data remains bullish, but just barely.

The top ranked ETF receives 100%. The rest are then
ranked based on their momentum relative to the leading ETF.While momentum isn’t stock performance per
se, momentum is closely related to stock performance. For example, over the 4-months
from Oct thru mid-February 2016, the number 1 ranked Financials (XLF) outperformed
the S&P 500 by nearly 20%.

*For additional background on the ETF ranking system see
NTSM Page at…

I was shellacked in recent trades so no short-term
trading for a while.Long is the call
now though, as it has been since the Index closed above the 50-dMA.

TUESDAY MARKET INTERNALS (NYSE DATA)

Market Internals
are positive on the market.

Market Internals are a decent trend-following analysis of
current market action, but should not be used alone for short term trading.
They are usually right, but they are often late.They are most useful when they diverge from
the Index.In 2014, using these
internals alone would have made a 9% return vs. 13% for the S&P 500 (in on
Positive, out on Negative – no shorting).

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About Me

I am an engineer with a lifelong interest in "playing with numbers" so what could be more fun than trying to develop a system that beats the stock market? Well, lots of things, but I decided to do this anyway.
While I am not a finance-professional, or professional investor, I have developed some skills.
I competed in two CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio contests finishing in the top 4% in 2008 (34,320th of 800,000) and the top 0.1% (448th of 500,000) in 2009. More importantly, I managed to sell out of my retirement accounts at or near the top in 2000 and 2007 and bought close enough to the bottom that I didn’t lose too much sleep. (Even Bill Gates lost SOME sleep.)
I hope that my thoughts will help you achieve your investing goals. Please remember that my ideas are free and there may be times when my ideas are worth less than what you paid.